Most helpful positive review

4CAVEAT: These retractables will NOT power up larger devices such as external drives

ByTony Polito "TonyPolito"on August 21, 2009

What Flash76 said is exactly correct. This cable will NOT supply sufficient power to more demanding devices such as external drives. It works fine with my older MP3 player however ... and does appear to be handing both data and power to the player adequately.

Though the Amazon description does not note this fact, the manufacturer DOES do so right on the back of the back of the product packaging, stating:

"NOTE: Because of wire size limitations, External drives must be self powerd." [sic]

I'm no electrical engineer, that's for sure, but I suppose you just need a larger, more 'regular' gauge cable to 'carry' sufficient quantity of power back to the more demanding devices. When using such a cable with my external drive, I have no problem.

But when using these retractables with the external drive, the power light comes on, then the platters can be heard click-click-clicking away, trying to start up a spin unsuccessfully. Eventually, I get a "device not recognized" message from Windows (since it can't fire up to send the drivers downline).

I bought three of these retractables and also I have two external drives, and no matter how I pair them, I get the same result. Regular gauge OK -- these retractables, not enough power.

Other than that, these Zip-Linqs work well and are of good construction. They retract and extract easily.

So for MP3 players, cameras, cell phones, etc., these retractables are probably going to do you just fine.

Shame they don't make the same kind of device in the larger gauge for those that want them for travel/portable/temporary use to power up larger devices.

Most helpful critical review

It wasn't clear (at least to me) from the write-up in Amazon that the cord isn't thick enough to supply power to a USB hard drive. Says so right on the package, but too late. So BEWARE if you were hoping to use this cord with an external USB drive (as I was)

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It wasn't clear (at least to me) from the write-up in Amazon that the cord isn't thick enough to supply power to a USB hard drive. Says so right on the package, but too late. So BEWARE if you were hoping to use this cord with an external USB drive (as I was)

What Flash76 said is exactly correct. This cable will NOT supply sufficient power to more demanding devices such as external drives. It works fine with my older MP3 player however ... and does appear to be handing both data and power to the player adequately.

Though the Amazon description does not note this fact, the manufacturer DOES do so right on the back of the back of the product packaging, stating:

"NOTE: Because of wire size limitations, External drives must be self powerd." [sic]

I'm no electrical engineer, that's for sure, but I suppose you just need a larger, more 'regular' gauge cable to 'carry' sufficient quantity of power back to the more demanding devices. When using such a cable with my external drive, I have no problem.

But when using these retractables with the external drive, the power light comes on, then the platters can be heard click-click-clicking away, trying to start up a spin unsuccessfully. Eventually, I get a "device not recognized" message from Windows (since it can't fire up to send the drivers downline).

I bought three of these retractables and also I have two external drives, and no matter how I pair them, I get the same result. Regular gauge OK -- these retractables, not enough power.

Other than that, these Zip-Linqs work well and are of good construction. They retract and extract easily.

So for MP3 players, cameras, cell phones, etc., these retractables are probably going to do you just fine.

Shame they don't make the same kind of device in the larger gauge for those that want them for travel/portable/temporary use to power up larger devices.

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My second one. Works with my Blackberry, BT Headset, and other cell phone. Only reason I did not give it five stars, was due to over time the stress of pulling it to get it to retract caused it to wear the cord out on one side. With that said, the first lasted 2 yrs.

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I ordered the Zip-Linq USB 2.0 A to Mini5 because it is five-pin model that will supply power to gadgets like cell phones and it pulls out to 48", longer than many others.

There are probably only one or two factories in the world that produce these items, with distributors private labeling them. Even if so, the Zip-Linq unit appears better made than many others. This one even has a loop for a keychain or ring.

These cables are great for anyone who travels or is on the go. No tangles, no excess space requirements. Very convenient gadget at a reasonable price.

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There's definitely nothing about this product that warrants the selling price of $9.98 each--far, far from it. The casing looks and feels chintzy: even the little, circular, plastic, logo plaque is blurry and is stuck on the casing off-center; dirty, excess glue remains. I do want to point out, however, that the seller responded very promptly and exceptionally courteously to my complaint to Amazon about the low quality, and that one cable was missing from the shipment (I ordered two).

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These are great. I carry about 5 different cables in a small bag in my briefcase. I travel every week and use these cables constantly. I LOVE them, they have eliminated all the frustrating tangles trying to plug stuff in. I use this to charge my BT headset and PDA/phone plus it gives a trickle charge to my Kindle.

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Excellent cable. Retractor works like a charm. No needing to pull all the way out to make it retract. I had to replace the cable for the speakers for my netbook and bought this. Definitely better quality sound because of this cable. The gold plating is real and they are high quality. Great buy!